Jennie Hodgers
- Born
- 1843-12-25 12:00:00
- Died
- 1915-10-10 12:00:00
- Gender
- Female
Jennie Hodgers was born in Clogherhead, County Louth in 1843, the daughter of Sallie and Patrick Hodgers. She immigrated to the US as a young girl and is supposed to have initially adopted a male identity to find work.
She found employment in Belvidere, Illinois before enlisting in the Union Army in 1862 with the 95th Illinois Infantry under the name of Albert Cashier. She took part in over 40 American Civil War battles and skirmishes, including the Siege of Vicksburg, prior to which she was captured while undertaking reconnaissance but managed to escape and return to the Army of the Tennessee.
Cashier left the army in 1865 and continued to live as a man, moving to Saunemin, Illinois and working as a variety of jobs including a church janitor, cemetery worker, and street lamplighter. Cashier also voted in several US elections, making her one of the first women to do so.
She died on October 10th, 1915 and was buried in Saunemin cemetery under the name Albert Cashier.
